Cotton-cleaner.



4o. C. EPPS. COTTON CLEANER.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 23, 1912.

1,@996060 Patented Mar. 17, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

mantova C. C. EPPS.

ooTToN CLEANER.

APPLICATION FILED DBC. 23. 1912. 1,090,606. Patented Mar. 17, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

l F i911.

y Antw@ -Mm/mmanl:

@.@MQQ @Atacal Q. a a j ED s'rATns (torron-cnnanni:`

Patented Mal'. ll, 1914.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, CLINTON Ci Erre, a citizen of the United' States of A merica, and a resident of Eufaula, in the county of McIntosh and State-of Oklahoma, have invented certain new yand useful Improvements in Cotton-Cleaners, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this speciication.

My-invention relates to an apparatus for cleaning raw cotton before it is ginned, and fpy which the refuse is removed from the cot- The main object of m invention is to provide a cleaner of this iiind by which what is knownas boll cotton, that is, cotton which is'left inthe boll, when picked, may be removed from the boll and cleaned without cross breaking of the boll. Cleaners of the kind to which my invention relates' usually .include a beater and breaker bars, between which the boll cotton is crushed ;l and when the bolls are acted upon between the beaters and breaker bars, the bolls are broken into fragments, resulting intheshale therein becoming reduced to particles which cling to the cotton and lessen its commercial value, owing to the presence of the shale. My cotton cleaner 1s so designed as to obviate breaking of the shale in the cotton bolls in ythe process of opening them, and causing removalof the cotton therefrom and, as a consequence, I am enabled to deliver the cotton1 from the cleaner free of the shale in the bol s.

A further object of my invention is to provide, in combination with a cotton cleaner of the description referred to a separator 'by which the loose refuse in boll cotton may be extracted therefrom, previous to its entrance into the boll opening and cleaning chamber.

Figure I lis a vertical longitudinal section through my cotton cleaner. Fig. II is an enlar ed vertical cross section.

n the drawings :-1 designates a delivery duct of a separator through which bolllcot- 'tonis delivered to myr cotton cleaner. This delivery duct has two channels a and b therein, between which is a perforated wall 2. The boll cotton to be treated is forced or drawn through the channel a -b air presv sure or suction, andthe loose re se therein is drawn through the perforated wall 2 by suction created in a suitable manner, as will .c 5 desi hereinafter more fully appear, and conducted away from the separator. In the channel b' at the lower end of the perforated wall 2 are spaced slats 3, between which the refuse passes, as indicated by thearrows Fig. I,

after which it enters the suction duct 4 leadmg from the channel b.

ates the case within which the elements o my cotton cleaner proper are located, at `the rear end of which is a suction outlet 6 that. communicates with a refuse recelving duct 7, in whichv a draft of air ma be occasioned by any suitable means; suc for instance, as a suction fan, having suitable connection with said receiving duct. rIfhe refuse receiving duct is arranged for communication with the duct 4. A suitable gate 8 is provided 'at the junction of the ducts 4 and 7, and adapted to be moved into various positions. For illustration, the gate` may occup an intermediate position, as

illustrated 1n fulllines, so that communication is maintained between the refuse receiving duct 7, and both the interior of the case 5 and the duct 4; or the gate may be adjusted to one of the positions indicated in dotted lines to close communication between the duct 4 and the duct 7, thereby preventing communication between only the interior of the case5 and the refuse receivn duct, or adjusted into the other position indicated in dotted lines to prevent communication vbetween the interior of the case 5, and provide communication only between the duct 4 and the duct 7. i

Within the case 5 is a perforated'concave 9,`preferably of coarse mesh wire fabric, this l concave being suitably secured to the side Walls of the case, and being of perforated structure, in order that refuse maybe drawn therethrough, into the chamber of the case 5, and therefrom into the refuse receiving duct 7, due to the draft .maintained in said duct. `In frontof the case 5 is an elongated eye or delivery opening 10, which extends to the front end ,of the perforated concave 9 at the bottom of said concave, and is preferably of the same width as the concave, so that boll cotton entering the cleaning chamber designated m may bedelivered to the concave in a thin layer extending throughout the width ofthe cleaning chamber; and, therefore, throughout thev width of ther concave. The boll cotton is conveyed to the eye 10 through a connection duct 11, which leads Y from the lower end of the separator duct l,

walls of the case 5 adapted to be driven bypower applied thereto in any suitable manner. This shaft constitutes a part of the beater of my cotton cleaner, the remainder of which comprises a lurality of arms 15 radiating from the shaft, that carry at their outer ends beater blades 16, each of a length corresponding to the width of the concave 9v. The. beater blades 16 are so arranged as to provide for their traveling iii a circular path concentric with the concave 9; but always Aout of contact with such concave, though in close proximity thereto.

In the practical use of my cotton cleaner, the boll cotton freed of the loose refuse therein while passing through the separator duct 1 traverses the connecting duct 11 and passes through the eye 10 to enter the cleaning chamber w in a thin stream, or layer, as previously mentioned. This thin stream of boll cotton is drawn into the chamber m by the draft created through the concave 9 and spreads evenly over the concave. The beater of the cleaner being in operation, the cotton bolls are engaged between the beater blades 16 and the concave in a manner to mash or crush theml without any breaking action, such as would break the shale in the cotton bolls. The beater is driven at a high rate of speed; and there being a multiplicity of the beater blades, opportunity is presented for a succession of blows, or impacts, by the beater blades .against each and every boll passing along the surface of the concave 9, which forms a backing for the boll cotton while it is being subjected to the act-ion of the beater blades. As the result, the cotton bolls are so treated as to efficiently open them without breakage, and free the cotton therein. The refuse or substance of the bolls passes, when the cotton is separated therefrom, through the perforated concave, due to the constant suction existing in the refuse receiving duct 7, and the cleaned cotton passes out of the cleaning chamber to the conveyer 13.

My apparatus may be used for separating loose refuse matter from cotton which is not contained in the boll, and in which instance it is unnecessary to pass the cotton through the cleaning chamber a To permit such use, I provide a gate 17 that is located at the lower end channel a in the separator duct 1. '1" his gate occupies the position seen in full lines Fig. I vwhen the boll cotton cleaner is in service, thereby furnishing c0111-, munication between the duct a and the con-- necting duct 11'.l

IVhen the cleaner is not in service, the gate is adjusted to the position indicated in dotted lines, thereby cutting off communi-` cation between the channel a of the separator, and the duct 11, and permitting the cotton from which loose refuse `has been separated to pass directly to the. conveyer 13:r

When my apparatus is in service for both separatingthe -loose refuse from boll cotton and cleaning the boll cotton, the gate 8l is adjusted to the intermediate position shown in full lines Fig. I, thereby providin for the refuse from both the separator an the cleaning chamber being drawn into the' refuse receiving duct 7; and, if the separator alone is used, the gate 8 isadjusted to the lowered position indicated in dotted lines, so that only the separator is in communication with the duct 7. By adjusting the gate 8 to the upper dotted line position, communication between only the cleaning chamber and-the duct'7 is furnished.

I claim 1. In a cotton cleaner, a case having a separator duct 1 for the ingressof boll cotton, said separator duct having a perforated partition 2 subdividing it intp a main chan- ,-nel a and a refuse channel b, a screen in said case, a breaker movable along said screen, a

`duct providing communication between said main channel a and the portion of said case in which said breaker is confined by said screen, a suction outlet duct adapted to receivezthe refuse passing through said screen, and a. suction duct leading from said refuse channel b to said outlet duct. v

. 2. In a cotton cleaner, a case having a separator duct 1 for the ingress' of boll cotton, said separator duct having a perforated partition 2 subdividing it into a main channel a and a refuse channel b, a screen in said case, a breaker movable. along said screen, a duct providing communication betweensaid main channel a and the portion of said case in `which said breaker is confined by said lscreen, 'a suction outlet duct adapted to receive the c. c. Erre.

In the presence of- ANNA M. Hays, .It W. EDWARDS. 

